Saturday, April 21, 2007
Story last updated at 04:15 a.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2007

State archives' centuries of treasures sometimes go unseen

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - When state archives manager Gerard Clark read a news story about a 16th century map recently auctioned off in London for a fortune, he immediately knew he'd seen the same document before.

Tucked away in a secure room a few floors above the secretary of state's office, the same chart was stored away in a box, amazingly preserved and kept amid hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of other records detailing Florida's history.

Most of the documents, such as legislative committee records dating back decades, are kept on row after row of shelves and can be pulled on demand for researchers. Others, such as the St. Augustine map drawn in 1588 and a letter Andrew Jackson wrote to one of Florida's territorial governors, are rarely seen by the public.

"I never thought I would have the opportunity to be the custodian of so many neat artifacts," said Secretary of State Kurt Browning, who left his position as Pasco County elections supervisor to take his new job. "The governor brought me up here to manage elections and make sure we stay on the straight and narrow, but this is pretty neat."

The St. Augustine map is the state's oldest archive. It shows a battle for the city and includes a fort where the Castillo de San Marcos now stands and some early streets. The copy auctioned off by Sotheby's was part of a set of five maps that sold for $1.29 million.

Also in the archives are a collection of letters to and from Richard Keith Call, Florida's third and fifth territorial governor. They include a series of exchanges with Jackson, Florida's first territorial governor and the nation's seventh president. In a July 1826 letter, Jackson mentions the deaths of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams earlier in the month.

"That virtuous patriot Jefferson is no more, he died on the 4th," Jackson wrote. "On yesterday when just to make the arrangements for this melancholy occasion, the mail brought us the sad intelligence that another of the signers of the declaration of independence was no more, that John Adams had departed this life on the 4th."

Beyond the historical significance, Clark points out that the collection of letters also provides other details of the times.

"Just as important is how this collection reflects the lives of Floridians in this early statehood period," Clark said. "It deals with political issues, family issues. This collection is really fascinating."

Also among the treasures are the secretary's copy of the 1838 Florida constitution, an official copy of the 1845 act of Congress that gave Florida statehood, and the tattered document which declared Florida was seceding from the Union.

The archives are also where each original bill signed into law by the state's governors are kept. Documents that have proved helpful to many people tracing their genealogy history are Confederate service records, which provide a wealth of family information.

And the archives aren't just old government papers hanging around in boxes. There're also 800,000 photographs, including an aerial shot of Key West taken in 1849, and film and audio recordings of Florida's history.

It was in the archive collection that Jamie Madden discovered Doors singer Jim Morrison appearing in a promotion film produced by Florida State University before Morrison dropped out of the school. It's the earliest known video of Morrison, who died in 1971.

Madden is responsible for reviewing and sometimes restoring thousands of hours of audio tape, some of which includes musicians whose work can't be found elsewhere. Among his responsibilities is to transfer recordings to a digital format so that they can be better preserved and reproduced.

"It's just a wealth of information here about Florida's recorded history," he said. "I've found a lot of wonderful performances ... Some of the most satisfying things that we have found are things that are by Floridians that we previously have had no knowledge of. Blind Johnny Brown is one who is a great slide guitar player."

While many of the photos, videos, audio recordings and historical documents are available online at the state's floridamemory.com Web site, some of the most precious of the items can't be seen in person.

Paper documents have to be protected from light and kept at the right temperature and humidity. And new security measures would have to be put in place if they were transferred to the state museum also contained in the R.A. Gray Building.

"This building isn't the most secure building in the world," Browning said.

But he does want to try to find a way to put some of the material on display.

"It's one thing to see something on the Internet, it's another thing to be standing two feet from this thing and looking at it and saying 'Wow!'" Browning said.

Even Gov. Charlie Crist had to make an appointment to see the documents, and he was immediately awed by what he saw.

"This was made in 1588?" he asked when shown the St. Augustine map. "Unbelievable! How's it in such great shape?"

After his tour, Crist was asked what he found most impressive among the documents.

"The original constitution," he said. "It's such an impressive part of Florida history and to have the chance to see it as her governor is kind of neat for me. Humbling, really."